President Nayib Bukele asserted that no sovereign state is inherently incapable of removing criminal control from its territory, arguing that the difference lies in political will and institutional integrity. Speaking recently, Bukele questioned why no U.S. state or Canadian province is controlled by criminal cartels despite vast uninhabited areas, saying that where organized crime holds territory in parts of Latin America it is because criminal actors have infiltrated government.
“Why isn’t there a single state in the 50 United States controlled by cartels? Or Canada?” the president asked, noting that large tracts of land — including tundra and impenetrable terrain — exist without criminal domination. He said the immediate response of a state’s armed forces and institutions in countries like Canada or the United States would make the idea of territorial criminal control unthinkable.
Bukele contrasted that situation with parts of Latin America where, he said, organized crime controls large sectors of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. “How is it possible that a criminal organization can take over an entire territory and the government cannot remove them?” he asked, answering bluntly: “Because they’re in government.”
The president framed the challenge as both theoretical and practical. He argued that effective eradication of criminal control must begin with a clear theory of state action, followed by complex but decisive execution. “Everything starts with theory and execution,” Bukele said, adding that while operational complexities are real, the foundation must be the conviction that there is no state that cannot eliminate crime.
Bukele’s remarks reiterate his administration’s stance that restoring full state authority requires institutional reform, political accountability and determined enforcement — a message aimed at both domestic audiences and international observers.